Happy Thanksgiving :-)

Happy Thanksgiving!  Gorp the turkey for the tryptophan - boost your serotonin and melatonin :-)

Mind the sugar :-)

Glen

I'll Be Hosting Sunday Connections December 7, 2014

I'll be hosting Sunday Connections, a service of Dr. Robert Rodgers at www.parkinsonsrecovery.com, on December 7, 2014 at 2pm Pacific Standard Time.

I will endeavor to tie together observations from my book and blog entitled "Powerful Food & A Walk In The Sun".  I will be able to answer texted and interview questions.

You can link to the web version of the teleseminsr at: http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=62264190

I look forward to meeting you there.

God Bless you all,

Glen Pettibone

#parkinsons #parkinsonsdisease #parkinsonsrecovery #neurology #michaeljfoxfoundation #naturaltherapies  #foodheals #fsnd #europeanparkinsonsdiseasefoundation

The Melanin Factor - Part III - Nighttime Circadian Rythmn, Melatonin, Norepinephrine, Pigmentation

So I'll attempt a simple explanation of the diagram below - don't worry!

 

At nighttime, when the sun goes down, and even more when we go to sleep, the blue light shining on the retina is gone.  The daytime dopamine receptor on the pineal gland shuts off and a nighttime receptor for norephinephrine turns on. 

 

When norepinephrine hits this receptor, the pineal gland activates to start producing melatonin (and other important hormones).  The melatonin shuts down the production of dopamine in the substantia nigra and goes on to stimulate the production of MSH in the pituitary gland.  The MSH goes everywhere in the body where there are melanocytes to produce melanin and nueromelanin.  Excess daytime dopamine is converted to dopachrome and used to make these melanins.  Further, excess dopamine, L-DOPA, tyramine from food, and tyramine metabolized from excess tyrosine get metabolized into norepinephrine which continues to activate the pineal gland to produce melatonin while we sleep.

 

Pigmentation with melanin flourishes at night.

 

Circadian rhythm then, is chemical resonance.  If we have powerful food, exercise, low stress, and sunlight in the day, we build a momentum of excess dopamine, L-DOPA, tyramine, and norepinephrine into the night.  Pigmentation then builds excess storage capacity for daytime surpluses.  Melatonin, a powerful antioxidant aids in repairing us.  Then we have momentum, vitality, and reserve storage into the day. 

 

Like any resonant, cycling system, it gains vitality if you activate and deactivate regularly, just at the right timing - like pushing your child on the swingset.  So if you go to bed when you've still got surplus dopamine and wake up when you've got surplus melatonin, both performance and reserve accumulate.  You build a black brain, rich in nutrients and stored neurotransmitters.

 

Behold - a part of your circadian rhythm!

 

I will post future segments of "The Melanin Factor" soon.

 

God Bless,

 

Glen Pettibone

 

 

 

The Melanin Factor - Part II - Daytime Circadian Rhythm, Melatonin, Dopamine, Melanin, and Food Precursors

So take a deep breath, the diagram below may look complicated, but I'll try to make it simple. A more detailed explanation is in the book.

On the left, you see a chain of chemical reactions that happen in your body to convert tyrosine from your food (eggs, fish, shrimp, nuts, lima beans, many others) into L-DOPA, then into dopamine, then into norepinephrine, and finally into epinephrine (aka adrenaline).  The cascade from tyrosine to dopamine physically takes place within your dopaminergic neurons (such as in the substantia nigra, or in the gut, or kidneys).  The last part, from dopamine to adrenaline takes place in your adrenal medulla (locus coeruleus) in your brain stem, and elsewhere in your body.

If we want to activate melanin production, we have to activate the pineal gland to produce melatonin, and the melatonin in turn activates the pituitary gland to produce melanin stimulating hormone (MSH).  The MSH then goes everywhere in the body that has cells, called melanocytes, to produce melanin.  Then cells turn on and start producing melanin, using up L-DOPA as a substrate to produce the melanin. Even critical neuromelanin in the brain is produced, which is greatly needed for PD sufferers (see The Melanin Factor - Part I). 

Things like excess dopamine, nicotine, and nutrients find affinity for the melanin and act as a reserve.  So the pigment is far more important than its color.

Starting at first daylight, light on your face, blue light in particular, activates the retina, sending a signal to your Super Chiasmic Nucleus (SCN) in your brain, which in turn activates receptors on your pineal gland to respond to dopamine, shutting off the production of melatonin.  This is good for the daytime because excess melatonin shuts off dopamine production, so now, in the daytime, our body is setup to flourish, ideally producing lots of excess L-DOPA and dopamine from our food.  Excess melatonin then fulfills antioxidant duties, thwarting poisons, UV light, and so on.  Excess MSH continues to activate pigmentation. 

Meanwhile nicotine, acetylcholine, and muscarine are busy triggering the use of dopamine in neurotransmission.  If all is well - with excercise, sunlight, powerful food, and without stress - very little dopamine is consumed to make adrenaline and we get a very nice excess supply of L-DOPA and dopamine.

And so we have the first dip of the seesaw between daytime dopamine and nighttime melatonin, a major swing in the circadian rhythm cycle.

All of this is setting the stage for melanin-production success at nighttime, which I will describe in The Melanin Factor - Part III.

Stay Tuned,

Glen Pettibone

The Melanin Factor - Part I - Pink Brains

Potentially Gross Picture Alert!!!

The following picture shows autopsy sections through the Substantia Nigras of: a) on the left, a Parkinsonian brain, and b) on the right, a "normal" brain.

 

Note that the normal brain's Substantia Nigra is replete with black neuro-melanin, whereas the Parkinsonian brain has gone pink.

Curiously, since this is perhaps a hallmark anatomical change attributable to PD you'd think there would be a bushel of literature on the subject of why this happens and what is the impact... but I really couldn't find anything but speculative reports, suggesting that the pigmentation loss coincides with cell death.

"How do they know the cells are dead at onset?"  I wondered.

"What if they've just stopped producing neuromelanin?"  I thought.

"We've got to try and fix the pigmentation problem, and there must be a purpose for the pigment..."

So I explored the production of melanin in the body.

I'll begin to try and explain my understanding thus far in Part II, forthcoming.

Glen

#Parkinson's #parkinsons #neurodegeneration

Neurology 101 - Interesting Tidbit: Hope IS The Last To Die

So I was studying dopaminergic pathways, and I got to thinking about the poignant phrase spoken in many cultures: "Hope is the last to die" or "Hope dies last".

As I looked at the dopaminergic pathways depicted in the lower graphic below, I recollected that Parkinson's begins with protein accumulation in your brain stem or lower, and then progresses upward, affecting you substantia nigra, and then onward and upward along your dopaminergic pathways, sometimes messing with executive decision making and cognition in the frontal lobe.

But the good news I think:  Hope is the last to die.

The upper graphic below shows the Anterior Cingulate (which controls perserverence and motivation in the face of adversity and difficulty) and the Prefrontal Lobe (which controls planning, executive function, and priority in response to motivation).  Perhaps the functions controlled by these two areas of the brain grab the lion's share of our sense of hope - not quitting, carrying on, finding a way.

The nexus of these two areas of the brain, as it happens, is located at the highest tip of the last tributary of river-channels (the dopaminergic pathways) along which dopamine flows.  As the flood waters of protein rise as we age, as we go on, the last flicker of burning dopamine - like a candle held high above the flood - is Hope.

Hope, by God's design, is the last to die.

God Bless,

Glen Pettibone

A (Very) Simplified Timeline of My Parkinson's Recovery So Far

Many people have indicated they have trouble comprehending my recovery in terms of medication, food, and time.  Some have suggested I produce a timeline chart to illustrate this.

Below is my first attempt at a really simplified depiction.  Of course the chart would get really busy if I depicted all the agonist drugs, Azilect, propanalol, etc. and all the supplements, intranasal glutathione, and other foods.  All of those things matter(ed) for better or for worse.  But in the interest of keeping this clean, I show just the giants in the room so to speak.

Note: Look at the slope of the graph and picture how much Levodopa I'd be taking now  (3200mg/day?) had I not figured out novel food, supplement, exercise, and circadian rhythm interventions.  Consider also that they were suggesting DBS brain surgery for me.

Then consider how it appears to be going no worse with time now, and that I think I'm gradually improving in many ways.

Wow... just wow!

God is good.

Glen Pettibone

#parkinsons
#health

New and Ongoing Success in Tennesse

Aunt Bean is a wonderful person, caregiver, and person with Parkinson's from Tennesse.  Recently, I've met and interacted by phone, Skype, and email with her and her friend Peggy Willocks from the East Tennesse support group.

Aunt Bean grows anti-Parkinson's crops on a small five acre farm in Tennesse.

She's famous for tinctures she makes using the essence of fava bean plants, loaded with levodopa, lecithin, and other key nutrients.  You can find out more detail about her and her fantastic dietary mitigations of PD at:

http://www.favabeans.parkinsonsrecovery.com/contact-aunt-bean

So it was with great honor that I read reports from her that she had been able to reduce the tincture dosages she has needed by incorporating the solanaceous veggies such as eggplant, peppers, and green tomatoes.  She remarked that this was very helpful to her because she could stretch the limited supply of tincture she produces.

She remarked with irony that in the past she had sold or given away the peppers and eggplant.

I currently do not eat fava beans, but at some point I think I may do so if I finally want to wipe out the last bit of the levodopa medication I do take.

God's nature has such elegant answers just sitting there in front of us!

Glen Pettibone

The Peripatetic Pursuit of Parkinson Disease

Recently, I have had the delightful pleasure of meeting (by Skype) and collaborating with two wonderful women and persons with Parkinson's, Peggy Willocks and "Aunt Bean" of Tennesse.

There's alot to be learned from these ladies.  Both are contributing authors to a fantastic compendium of all things Parkinson's entitled "The Peripatetic Pursuit of Parkinson Disease" by The Parkinson's Creative Collective.

I have been leafing through the text and I have been amazed by the thoughful detail, touching testimonials, beautiful artwork, and valuable information.

The book, in glossy paperback can be found at:

http://www.amazon.com/Parkinsons-Creative-Peripatetic-Pursuit-Parkinson/dp/B00N4G5052/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415000230&sr=1-3&keywords=the+peripatetic+pursuit+of+parkinson+disease

So just a shout out to Peggy and Aunt Bean.

Great work, and God Bless you both.

Glen Pettibone

New Source Of Choline In My Diet - Braunschweiger

Discovered Braunschweiger while working in Wisconsin this week.  This is a pork liver sausage.

Organ meats, especially livers are very high in choline and other constituents like B vitamins.

Recipes to follow - it works for me.

Glen

November Marks 1 Year, 9 Months Since I Reversed My Parkinson's

In February 2013, I began reversing my Parkinson's by eating powerful food and walking in the sun.

By June 2013 I had reversed my symptoms by about 95%.  I've been very gradually improving since then.

The book tells the story,  and gives details regarding my diet.

God Bless,

Glen